The Premier League and Women’s Super League are set to introduce a White and Green card substitution trial system from today starting with Aston Villa versus Arsenal.
This is happening because the International Football Association Board allowed the trial of additional ‘concussion subs’ explained Sky Sports.
A recent rise in head to head collisions for example, Raul Jimenez and David Luiz’s sickening clash of heads which cause a fracture in Raul’s skull has put the subject in the limelight.
Player welfare is paramount and introducing extra substitutions will stop players and managers from making people with concussion symptoms playing on just to to prevent a numbers disadvantage.
At the beginning of a game, managers will be handed five cards, three will be white and two will be green. When making a regular substitution a manager will hand the fourth official a white card, when a concussion sub is needed, the manager will hand a green card.
If one team, makes a concussion substitution the other team will be awarded another white card and will be allowed make an extra substitution to stop complaints about a team gaining a competitive advantage as they have more fresh player on the pitch.
In theory this means that it’s possible both teams can make 7 substitutions in a game but no one wants to see that happen.
If a player is involved in a collision that involves possible head injury then medical staff will be allowed to take as much time as needed to diagnose on the pitch and a doctor will be watching videos of the collision in the tunnel so they can make a ruling.
If the player is deemed fit to play on then they will be monitored throughout the rest of the match and if delayed concussion symptoms appear at a later stage, a green card can still be used to substitute the player. A more thorough concussion test will be done by doctors at Half-time and Full-time.
The whole process is still in testing so expect changes to improve the system in the future.